Seated Woman

A lustrous finish emphasizes the mahogany wood grain that artist Elizabeth Catlett beautifully incorporated into "Seated Woman." The figure’s rounded body and firmly placed legs convey confidence and stability. A sense of naturalism merges perfectly with a simplified, abstracted form reminiscent of African masks and Mexican sculpture. Catlett, an African American artist who lived her adult life in Mexico, greatly respected these two artistic traditions. Catlett felt affirmative representations, such as "Seated Woman," could support social change because they allow people who are underrepresented to see themselves depicted in art. Female subjects are predominant throughout Catlett’s work. She was moved by “black beauty, not the female nudes of the European artists, but the women of the African wood carvers and the pre-Hispanic stone carvers.”